Senate confirms Trump’s first judicial nominee of his second term
By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON AP The Senate has endorsed President Donald Trump s first judicial pick of his second term voting to approve Whitney Hermandorfer as a judge for the Sixth U S Circuit Court of Appeals The confirmation of Hermandorfer who worked for Tennessee s attorney general comes after the Democratic-led Senate under former President Joe Biden approved federal judges and the Republican-led Senate in Trump s first term certified federal judges The two presidents each worked to reshape the judiciary with Trump taking advantage of a high number of judicial vacancies at the end of President Barack Obama s term and Democrats working to beat Trump s number after he had the opportunity to nominate three Supreme Court justices So far in his second term Trump has fewer vacancies to fill While he inherited more than vacancies from Obama who was stymied by a Republican Senate in his final two years Trump now has vacancies to fill out of almost federal judgeships Senate Majority Leader John Thune mentioned last week that the Senate would work to swiftly confirm Trump s judicial nominees even though we re not facing the number of judicial vacancies this Congress we did during Trump s first term Sen Majority Leader John Thune R-S D center talks after a protocol luncheon on Wednesday July at the Capitol in Washington AP Photo Mariam Zuhaib Hermandorfer who was ratified - along party lines has defended multiple of Trump s policies as director of strategic litigation for Tennessee s attorney general including his bid to end birthright citizenship Democrats and liberal judicial advocacy groups criticized her as extreme on that issue and others also citing her office s defense of the state s strict abortion ban Before working for the Tennessee Attorney General she clerked for three Supreme Court justices But at her confirmation hearing last month Democratic Sen Chris Coons of Delaware criticized what he called a striking brevity of court experience since Hermandorfer graduated from law school a decade ago Related Articles A chaotic raid arrests and a tragic death What happened at California s Glass House Farms US imposes a duty on fresh Mexican tomatoes in hopes of boosting domestic production Trump administration says it won t publish major situation change review on NASA website as promised How Trump plans to dismantle the Training Department after Supreme Court ruling MAGA faithful are angry about the Epstein scenario Here s what to know Illinois Sen Dick Durbin the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee noted Monday that Trump is only focused on a nominee s perceived loyalty to him and his agenda and a willingness to rule in favor of him and his administration The Judiciary panel is scheduled to vote on additional judges this week including top Justice Department official Emil Bove a former lawyer for Trump who is nominated for the rd U S Circuit Court of Appeals Bove s nomination has come under scrutiny after a fired department lawyer claimed in a complaint that Bove used an expletive when he reported during a meeting that the Trump administration might need to ignore judicial commands Bove has pushed back against suggestions from Democrats that the whistleblower s proposes make him unfit for the federal bench Bove has also accused FBI leaders of insubordination for refusing to hand over the names of agents who investigated the U S Capitol riot and ordered the firings of a group of prosecutors involved in the Jan criminal cases
